 Hello, I am a new startup! I’m funded by venture capital and free to use. Please come and make me valuable by using me. Make my numbers go up! Once you do, I’ll have everything I need and I can do whatever I want with the time and effort you’ve put into making me successful. Not happy? Fuck you, I don’t need you anymore (network effects FTW, amirite?)… I’m laughing all the way to the bank. Goodbye! … Hello, I am a new startup… * * * When are we going to learn to say “no” at the start? :kitten: Meow! New Kitten just dropped: • Uploads are now listed in the Small Web Place Settings (/💕/settings) of all Kitten apps. “I don’t understand why everything is so fucked up and we seem incapable of fixing any of it!” This is because you believe you live in a democracy when you actually live under capitalism. (And it is functioning exactly as designed.) PS. Not your fault; you’ve been taught your whole life that the two are complementary when they’re diametrically-opposed.
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“I don’t understand why everything is so fucked up and we seem incapable of fixing any of it!” I started reading thinking you were referring to technology. But in that case one would need to realize that it is fucked up in the first place let alone understand that it gets worse with every update and product release. Won't turn out good for civilization. I imagine that someplace there are always coders using phrases like "it's good enough for government work".  @aral I know I keep dropping into threads to say this, and I have it in my profile, but it's important to think of "Capitalism" not as "free markets and stuff". It's actually a political system of rule-by-investor: those with the capital make the laws and pressure the executive arms that enforce them. Coming soon, views of your databases in your Kitten* app’s Settings page (/💕/settings) pages. And, after that, data export and import. So it turns out Yanis isn’t banned from Germany and it was just a lie told by the German police to stop him from speaking at the event? 🤔 https://diem25.org/chronicle-of-the-betatigungsverbot-against-yanis-varoufakis/ #germany #YanisVaroufakis #diem25 #israel #gaza #palestine #apartheid #ethnicCleansing #genocide  Capitalism is a having a burger delivered to your door in minutes but dying because you can’t afford medical care.
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 @aral Having a burger delivered is commerce, which is a good thing. Not being able to afford health care is a multi-tier problem involving government policies but also the inability of people to prioritize health over superfluous spending. I know people who complain about health care costs but gladly buy every new version of an iPhone. Capitalism is a result of unchecked consumerism, not commerce. If you’re on mastodon.social, I would highly recommend that you switch to a different server that protects its people instead of exposing them to a well-known bad actor like Facebook/Meta via Threads. For alternatives, see: https://fedipact.veganism.social And remember that Mastodon is not the fediverse. The fediverse is much more than just Mastodon and definitely more so than mastodon.social and Mastodon gGmbH. #mastodonSocial #mastodonGGMBH #mastodon #fediverse #threads #facebook #meta
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 @aral@mastodon.ar.al   @aral Crazy how time flys by! You're such an inspiration to many, I know I've said it before, but your work on small web and related tools is iconic! The fediverse is so lucky to have such dedicated and wise developers like you, who have no problem using your following to question other devs and I think that's an amazing quality. You give a voice to the voiceless, and build for the people. Much love and success, you def deserve it ❤️
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@aral @Gargron Interesting that nobody puts on the table the third server rule: "3. No incitement of violence or promotion of violent ideologies... While some usual suspects, like masto.nobigtech.es blatantly support Ukrainian genocide by Ruzzia and call nazis to Ukrainian people, and nobody asks for defederation. I wonder why :thonking:  @aral @Gargron Not only that! Allowing instances driven by Meta to federate with entire Fediverse put us all content creators and authors in very big danger of being robbed from our work efforts and our money as well. 
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 > But I’m confused… Mastodon gGmbH and Meta Platforms, Inc. are besties according to Mastodon gGmbH CEO.¹ Mastodon isn't Pixelfed? It seems Meta are able to compartmentalise between Masto and other Fediverse softwares in ways some of us apparently still can't.Shitty what Meta are doing but their actions have nothing to do with the specific Meta-Masto relationship other than providing a warning to Masto about how Meta operate? If you’re supporting Israel in these troubled times, it’s important to remember you’re not alone. There were people who supported Nazi Germany too. #israel #palestine #gaza #genocide #ethnicCleansing #apartheid
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 @aral I cannot believe that people can't understand the idea that genocide is genocide, shame on those who defend ANY genocide @aral you are a useful idiot... do you understand you defend #hamasisISIS and #hamasrapists F&*k you!  @aral Our commons is a robot police patrolled marketplace. You're drowned out among the billions unless you pay to promote your message. I understand, but humbly suggest indeed we do still have commons. your neighbor who brings you food when you're under the weather, or that person online who's organizing a project or rally. I don't think we're "under" capitalism. we're exposing it, or straddling it and beating it with many little sticks. I just love that we live in a system where all the free work you do for the common good has absolutely zero value and you’re only deemed successful if what you do makes money. And then you wonder why you’ve ended up with the Elon Musks of the world.
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 Those with money get to leverage the work of others without giving them any of the money. If I were working on a big open source project I wouldn't want the Elongz and other grifters using my work.
 @aral I was just listening to the latest Factually podcast from @adamconover where this was touched on - journalism is never profitable on its own, there’s always something to the side of it that’s made the money. That has now broken down and that’s why local news all over the world is disappearing and the money they used to make is funneled into Google and Meta. I call it “end-stage capitalism” because, one way or another, it’s going to end. The more pertinent question is whether or not it will take us along with it. And that very much depends on how it ends.
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@aral Naomi Klein calls this stage "necro-techno capitalism", for obvious reasons. Will it take us with it, dying? Probably not. I believe that on the very brink of the final collapse, people (some, not all) will revolt. It will be painful, but I think some of us will survive and eat the rich. @aral I am not so sure capitalism is going to end soon. A more interesting topic to me is what comes after. Can we be sure it will be better.
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 @aral how is this even a thing for not having a google or apple device? We're hiring heaps at Octopus Energy/Kraken Tech (part of https://octopusenergy.group/ ) and I think you'd fit in well (our head of FE also wrote a book on web accessibility 🎉). Happy to answer any questions about the company via PM or email. |
Gregory's Server
@aral
Seems that for the modern human being the concept "learn" it's getting complicated 🤦♀️
@aral